Pets Need Wholesome Food Also
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Ask Jesse — Holistic Health For Dogs and Cats

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Dogs and cats deserve a wholesome raw meat diet

Part 6: She Caught A Mouse — I'm Concerned About Parasites

I was home all of today, and Bekkie Boo Boo was outside running around, and one of the things she loves to do is hunt for mice. This afternoon she caught a field mouse in the woods and ate the whole thing — in less than 2 minutes tail and all.

Should I feed her in the morning now — so she eats my food versus mice, since mice have parasites?

Or should I not concern myself about parasites, and with mice she is getting a complete nutritional package?

And did she hunt/eat the mouse because she was hungry — even though I feed her as much as she wants at night?

Also I am wondering how hungry she will be tonight... but I'll find out in a couple of hours. Although as soon as she came inside she went right to her food plate, looking for food — go figure! :)

Jesse's Answer

Continue as normal.

If Bekkie Bekkie Boo had just eaten the food you fed her, chances are she would not have been interested in the mouse, at least from a food point of view. She may still have wanted to catch the mouse as part of a game, but she wouldn't have eaten the mouse if she was full.

She's a hunter. She will naturally hunt for food when given the chance. She didn't hunt because she was starving, she did this because its in her nature — she's a hunter.

Ultimately, don't confuse hunger with starving. Also don't confuse her catching and eating the mouse with the need for 2 meals per day. This is not what Bekkie Boo Boo is saying. You must remember that you fed Bekkie Boo Boo the previous night... so by the time she went outside to hunt, more than 12 hours and possibly 16 hours had already passed. So of course, there would be a little bit of room in her stomach for a mouse. So when she saw the mouse, she did what came natural. To me, this is a good thing. It helps Bekkie Boo Boo be the hunter... it allows her to fulfill her nature. It also reduces your feeding costs!

I wouldn't be surprised though if Bekkie Boo Boo was showing off a little and saying See, look what I can do!

Still feed her as normal. I wouldn't change the schedule at all. Of course, she may not eat as much tonight but I would stick to the nighttime feeding schedule.

Remember, carnivores have an absolutely huge stomach. Their stomach is approximately 65% of their digestive system allowing them to eat up to 25% of their own body weight.

Parasites are really a non–issue. Not only do cats and dogs have natural antibacterial saliva, but the hydrochloric acid they produce in their stomach is approximately 15 times stronger than a humans — but only when fed raw meat. Only raw meat stimulates this high acid production in the stomach. Cooked meat shuts this production down. The body doesn't produce enough acid when the meat is cooked because there is no parasites or bacteria to kill as the cooking has done this for the body and the body can sense this.

The high acid production when eating raw meat is ultimately what allows carnivores to more efficiently break down the meat, bones, skin, fur, feathers, etc... plus, more importantly, to extract the nutrition (especially the calcium) from the food.

Myself, I would consider this a bonus that Bekkie Boo Boo caught a mouse. Mice are one of the highest source of taurine, an amino acid, that's very important to cats.

The reality is that cats have eaten mice for a very long time — thus always think in terms of carnivore nutrition rather than human nutrition.

As long as you continue to feed Bekkie Boo Boo once per day, as much food as she wants, then that's perfect. Should Bekkie Boo Boo go out and hunt, you can still feed her again. It's not a huge issue. Just stick to the schedule and routine (:

Please always remember that only mature cats and dogs need one meal per day. Puppies and kittens have different feeding schedules.

  1. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 1
  2. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 2
  3. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 3
  4. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 4
  5. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 5
  6. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 6

  7. Bekkie Boo Boo: Part 7

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Testimonials

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The following are testimonials shown in random order. In addition to reading these testimonials, you may also want to read The Sick Pet Project.

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The Wonders of A Wholesome Meal!

2010-03-10

Hello everyone,

We are two Pomeranian brothers Dolce & Gabbana.

We were born on the 18th of November, 2009 in Malta, Europe (near the southern part of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea).

We have been struggling with allergies since we started eating at 4 weeks of age.

When our mother took us home for the first time she immediately realised that there was something wrong with us, Big possibility it was allergies. Mummy took us to the vet with no delay. Our vet changed our food, yet another garbage dry food perhaps even worse from what we where having. It was full of corn, maize, corn, maize. Mummy thought this food was more appropriate for chicken and not puppies. This food only made us feel worse with watery eyes, itchy skin and it just irritated much. So Mummy thought ok I will feed them what I believe is nutritional and healthy – nothing can beat natural food.

So mummy started cooking for us fresh cooked food – 2 parts meat and 1 part vegetables and some boiled apples, pears and raw bananas instead of vegetables for breakfast. Our skin and itching had improved in the first week but our eye irritations and watering got worse. To the vet again. This time the same brand food but a veterinary diet and still with corn plus some supplements such Omega 3, Omega 6, taurine, minerals and vitamins. Since Mummy did not know much about these sources she did not trust it and believed this was another commercial crap. She bought it and the food also but never gave it to us. Now Mummy came to the conclusion that we were allergic to wheat – so no treats, allergic to corn – so no commercial food. Mummy had to find what was harming us in her fresh food diet that she believed in so much.

Mummy began to believe that we had protein allergy. So our diet had been adjusted to boiled duck breast and sweet potatoes. At this point Mummy was worried sick about us and our health at this very crucial time while we are growing from babies to young boys. She was worried that we are going to be weak for the rest of our lives just because she did not know what was the proper food for us. She was feeling irresponsible that she had brought us to her without knowing how to take care of us properly. The love she gave us was not enough for our needs. She hesitated to go to the vet again as she felt that he was not understanding her when she explained natural food was her choice to feed us.

Meanwhile Mummy kept on searching on the internet for a remedy, day and night of course this was how she learned to detect our allergies to wheat, corn and also protein – from the internet. Mummy was worried sick, Saying to her self, but if I don’t feed them protein from meat what can I feed them to make them grow strong and healthy? Vegetables were not enough! Dogs are not vegetarians! It is against their nature. Mummy’s head was spinning now feeling down and sick of not eating herself. Spending nights not sleeping, staying on the internet searching for a remedy for our proper intake and praying to mighty God to help her find a solution to make us healthy and happy. On Friday night or early Saturday morning on March 5th, 2010, Mummy came across Pets Need Wholesome Food Also. She thought, here I am, this is the answer to my prayers!

Mummy kept reading till morning – her eyes filled with tears of joy. She knew this was it. Same diet as she was giving us, which she believed in so much except uncooked! So Mummy has found the key. At least, that was what she was hoping.

After she read and understood all which was very plain and easy for her to understand, she went to the freezer, got the fresh meat which she had bought and packed in portions the previous day for us. Mummy thought she would start off with chicken breast minced, although, there was a time that she was beginning to think that we where allergic to chicken meat but after she read the story of the The Sick Pet Project, it encouraged her to give it to us. She thought this is for sure more wholesome than the poor meal of 2 parts sweet potatoes and 1 part cooked duck breast which we have been eating for 3 days now.

So Mummy prepared the well blended vegetables which consisted of carrots and peas and defrosted the chicken mince by putting it in a plastic bag and soaking it in warm water: For this time she had learned not to use a microwave for our food. Than she broke some eggs, washed the shell and removed the white lining inside and also removed the parts which where printed with ink for date of consumption, then she crushed them as fine as possible by putting them in a plastic bag and crushed them further with the rolling pen several times. Unfortunately, in Malta we do not have a homeopathic veterinarian, let alone a place where to buy the homeopathic remedies for pets.

By now it was 6 o’clock in the morning. Mummy had realised that we where hearing her all the time so we were not sleeping in our playpen. While Mummy always gave us breakfast at around 7:30 AM or 8:00 AM, she could not wait to start giving us this wholesome meal and start us fresh on this what she called miraculous raw diet. We where so starving that we ate double the portion we normally eat. Mummy started crying and showered us with kisses and cuddles and telling us that now we were on the road to recovery, good health and happiness. We had a very nice sleep afterword and Mummy was very much concerned about our reaction to the new diet so she kept watching us constantly while we where sleeping like two little angels.

When we got up we where rather upset because it was our digestive system. Mummy thinks we needed some FloraZyme LP according to what she understood in her reading but unfortunately Mummy did not have any on hand, neither could she go buy it nor make it her self for us like she did the calcium. So Mummy decided to rub our tummy and stomach with warm hands after some time one of us went to the washroom on the nappy to get relieved, that was me Dolce, and immediately I started playing and running with my toys. Gabbana was still upset looking up at Mummy with mercy. He did urinate quit a few times, not only on the nappy but wherever. His urine was very clear like water. Meanwhile, five hours has passed and Gabbana had no sign of apatite.

This time we were not so keen on the food both of us. Not much of a nice taste like the food we are use to. So Mummy decided to mash some peanut butter in it because that is our favourite treat. We ate it all from Mummy’s hands, given with love.

My brother Gabbana still has not been relieved and he was sleeping again when Gabbana got up went to the nappy pad and got relieved. Seeing us happy playing and full of life was a great relief for Mummy! We have been fed 4 times a day as usual but much bigger amount, almost double of what we normally ate. Although we are very small, we still have managed to take big meals until this morning. I, Dolce, weigh 1.6 Kg and my brother Gabbana weighs 2.1 kg. Today is our fifth day on the wholesome meal raw diet. At our first meal of the day we ate the usual big meal and after some small pieces of pear and bananas. At our second meal we ate a little less and our third meal was less for Gabbana. Gabbana always seemed to be the strongest.

In these 5 days, we had become two complete different puppies – no excessive itching, no eye irritations and the rough hair patch on the lower part of our back and tail begin to get smoother. Mummy had helped it a little by messaging some olive oil on it too. It is unbelievable how much benefit we have had from the wholesome raw diet in just 5 days. We are already feeling and looking healthier – and much more playful, relaxed and obedient. And all this was not possible without the help and amazing educational information to our Mummy of how to feed and make wholesome meals for us (http://www.pet-grub.com/).

We have no words to thank you enough Jesse. You are a God sent gift to us and those like us. May God be with you and bless you always!

– Dolce & Gabanna


Dolce and Gabbana

Rocky's Comeback

2008-09-14

I took on a dog that was very, very skinny, extremely stressed, and sick with a major cold and diarrhea caused by an intestinal parasite that he picked up at an overcrowded animal shelter. That was August 22, 2008. He was only the second dog I've had, and I didn't feel all that equipped to handle him (I'm still learning!).

I was scared to death he was going to die on my watch. But I immediately ditched all commercially prepared food and started feeding him by hand, scrambled eggs, rice, and cheese. I started doing research and found your book, which I enjoyed and printed. I've employed its recipes (for the most part — I still have a cultural need to just sear the meat before serving, still mostly raw, and I still include rice), but the results have been phenomenal. I bought a $20 food chopper at Wal–Mart to chop the vegetables and the organ meats, and for most things it works just fine. I use cheese as training treats. And this was while he was on medication, which as we all know can hinder weight gain.

Now he's a happy bundle of energy, more than I can handle, actually. We go out for long, energetic walks and today I bought my first set of running shoes in over 15 years. We may wind up saving each other here!

Because of his poor health, I took pictures of him every day to examine his progress in detail to make sure I could tell for sure whether he was improving or getting worse. They wound up being great before and after testimonials for the power of healthy food for your dog. These pictures are only 10 days apart! Except for the last, which is 3 weeks from the first, I think. I'm allowing him to stay lean and energetic, and we're working on building up muscle.

Thank you for your very helpful website – Nancy

Rocky Rocky Rocky Rocky

One Word — Fantastic

2005-08-15

We thought we would write to let you know how our cats are doing on the fresh food diet. In a word — fantastic! We have four feline companions in total, ranging in ages from 5 months to 9 years. All are healthy & full of vigour now. When they were eating canned and dry food they often had diarrhea (we fed vet recommended food), would throw up regularly after meals and had constant problems with hairballs (we brushed them a lot). All that is stopped now. One of our males, part Russian Blue, had recurring FUS (feline urological syndrome). With this natural way of feeding it has completely cleared up. Another remarkable thing is they almost never drink water now (we always leave fresh water out), all they need is provided in their food. We feel a lot better about feeding fresh meat and such rather than man made food with preservatives and chemical additives, etc. We want our cats with us for a long time and feel with this diet they will enjoy lengthy and healthy lives.

Thank you for introducing us to the feeding of fresh wholesome food the way Mother Nature intended. It did take a little while for them (and us) to get used to it, like asking kids not to eat junk food, but now they attack their meals with gusto! Thanks again.

— Lori and Russ